Quick note from the future - February 2, 2009: Tim Best, husband of London, Ontario's Mayor, Anne-Marie DeCicco-Best, has been arrested and faces multiple DUI-related charges. If you've found my site via a search engine, please click here for the updated story.A while back, I wrote a blog entry about the excellent NBC program, Friday Night Lights (click here to read it), which is based on a movie, which in turn was based on the book by H.G. Bissinger. Long story short: it's hardly about the football, and it remains, in its second, strike-abbreviated season, a shining example of the best that television has to offer.
Recently, I noticed something funny: folks searching for "Friday Night Lights" in Google were finding my site. Even more odd, many of the search terms included "London" and Ontario" as well. At first I wondered if there was an undercurrent of support for the show here in London. Then I dismissed the thought: Londoners don't "get" television more evolved than Deal or No Deal or The Price is Right. We like our culture served up in big box stores, cineplexes and franchised family-friendly restaurants, thank you very much.
It all fell into place for me last week when I read an article about the impending opening of a new restaurant in London. Name? Friday Knight Lights. Why the k? The London Knights are this city's Ontario Hockey League team. They play at the big downtown arena, the John Labatt Centre, and on game nights, the city is awash in green. Although it's decidedly small-town, this city takes its almost-big-time hockey team very seriously. As it should: it's a great team that's well-connected to its community.
The guy behind the new restaurant is none other than Tim Best, husband of our burg's mayor, Anne-Marie DeCicco-Best. I hope he's a fan of the show, and I hope his new venture flies. This city needs a little culture, even if it's cribbed from a fabled literary/entertainment franchise.
Your turn: What search terms bring visitors to your site? Got any stories to go along with them?
One more thing: Virginia Heffernan, who writes about television for the New York Times, wrote this superb entry, entitled Art in the Age of Franchising, in her blog, The Medium. If content quality and the evolution of media matter to you, she should be your first read.
I had done a post on a relatively new Christian band called Rush of Fools when I was in London. That same day one of their fathers did a google search for their name and found my site. He has been a lurker ever since leaving me comments here and there.
ReplyDeleteHe shared my blog with them and with some others from their church in Alabama and I had more readers.
Pretty cool.
*and BTW, I love that show. I am totally hooked on it!
ReplyDeleteI heard so much about Friday Night Lights but I never dared to see that show since I always have this prejudice against tv series that doesnt suit my taste. But I will check on it since it got good reviews
ReplyDeleteWell, today's search terms included "jambalaya" and "how to feel your liver". I've not posted about liver in many, many moons, by the way.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am a HUGE fan of Friday Night Lights. Huge.
I believe it was this blog I use now, that I wrote about my mom. Once.. only once she put my brother over her knees and attempted to wail on his backside. It was a rather comical thing to witness because he'd laugh, she'd get angry, my other brother and I would laugh. Finally she just got frustrated and banished everyone to our rooms.
ReplyDeletePeople that visited my site for a time after that were more interested in adult amusements. (Hopefully I left out the word that invited the searches and it's pretty easy to understand.)
I'm almost embarassed to admit my story, but it's true :)
ReplyDeleteWe all started blogging when we knew nothing about it. One of my FIRST few stories landed me the #2 Google result for Puff the Magic Dragon.
I received photos of a man from the UK that tattooed his "who who" and "boo boo" in a quite intricate design of a dragon.
I published them as not only a nut piece (no pun intended), but also to point out the amazing art and how painful it must have been.
Not thinking it would be taken as porn, or the like... but let's face it, weird sells, and without that one post, my blog would have no where near the ranking it has...
Excuse me...the #2 Google return for Puff the Magic Dragon Tattoo :)
ReplyDeleteBTW...I lived in Texas IN THE AREA of Friday Night Lights, it is true. The MOJO magic of that Midland Texas team was all true. Stores did close, people there DO take football that seriously.
Average attendance for that high school's football games sometimes was 25,000. I lived it.
every sunday (with occasional exceptions) i do what i call "sunday google-age." i show search terms that have brought people to my blog and mock them. some favorites from the most recent google-age include "mothers who let their sons wear pantyhose," "You look like a two-dollar hooker!" (which i SO do not), and "how to hint that you want to have sex without sounding skanky." it's so hilarious to find these things.
ReplyDeleteI posted a blessing/poem by the recently deceased Father John O'Donahue. He was a good friend of some of my UK blogger friends. Since then, I have had more hits and visits from people all over the world who are looking for the words and wisdom of this man. It has amazed me how many people whose lives he touched.
ReplyDeleteAnne's House of Nuts in combination with Maryland brings a lot of searchers.
ReplyDeleteThe snack food company, Annes' House of Nuts, is based here in Maryland, not that far from where I live, but I didn't know that until I wondered why I kept seeing that in the stats and did the google search myself.
As I've written to you before, I love FNL. I wanted to ask you a couple weeks ago what you thought of the Riggins-Julie thing, but never got around to it.
Carmi, you have so inspired me to start taking pictures. I wondered if you could suggest a good starter camera that won't break the bank. I have a digital camera but it does not work well and takes forever to take a second picture. maybe it's me but I don't think it works right. any suggestions.PLEASE!!
ReplyDeleteI get some crazy search hits on my blog, and normally I wouldn't wish them on someone else. But, since you asked, here goes.
ReplyDeleteSearch terms that land folks at my blog:
- rad girls bikini wax (from a post where I told of my family watching "Rad Girls" on a holiday weekend)
- i can't pee in public (from a post where I mentioned a pop-up street urinal)
- calvin pissing decals (from a post where I complained about bumper stickers bearing a copy of the boy from Calvin and Hobbes peeing on whatever the driver hates - it's depressing how many people are out searching for these stickers)
- reverend blue jeans (from a post I wrote about misheard lyrics)
- hold on lucy (from same post as above)
- lasik story (from a series of posts I did when my wife had lasik surgery)
There are many more, of course, but my free statcounter account doesn't hold them forever.
I've had a draft of a post on this sitting in my edit folder for months now... I need to get it done : P
ReplyDeleteIt's pretty entertaining - the searches that can land people in the middle of your blog. I enjoyed this post! I'll try to get mine done.
(P.S. I've been watching for your travel post... did I miss it? Missed you on WW too. I came over here for my pun fix) : (
~ Michelle @In The Life Of A Child